•Gunita•

Chapter 7: A Pretty boy

" Shinichiro-san, I'm here, " Kiyoko announced, putting down a bag of snacks on the counter. Her eyes wandered around the bike shop, stopping at a guy crouching in front of a bike.

He seemed busy and lost in his world so Kiyoko decided to not bother him much, opting to sit in one of the chairs behind him.

The soft sound of popular music along with the sound of clanking metals and wrenches resonated inside the shop, giving out a pleasant vibe and making Kiyoko bop her head occasionally.

Thud!

" Gah! Kiyoko-chan?! " Shinichiro shrieks, clenching his chest in surprise. He didn't hear her footsteps at all.

" Geez, stop scaring me like that kid, though you were a burglar " he sighed.

Kiyoko's POV

I rolled my eyes, wondering how dramatic this old man can be, which part of me looks like a burglar?

" How rude, I've never been mistaken for a burglar before '' I said rather grumpily, yet he only smiled. The audacity of this man—

" Well looks like I was the first one to do so " he laughed, placing down the wrench he was holding. " Now that you're here kid, help me find this small screw. Been looking for this fuc— thing since yesterday." He coughed. making me step backward.

Social distancing is a must.

Covid is waving.

I took a closer look at whatever he was pointing at in my blueprint. Oh, he was looking for the smallest screw. " You lost it, didn't you? I even separated them by sizes and colors "

I narrowed my eyes at him, he could only chuckle in response, sheepishly rubbing his nape. Sigh. " Seems like your memory is catching up with your age "

Cue his dramatic gasp " I'm not that old! ".

"Yeah, yeah whatever makes you sleep at night Shinichiro-san " I stood up and fetched a magnetized baton from my bag.

I began to swat the baton around, slowly. As to not accidentally make a mess of the shop." If you lose them again, I'm gonna call you greasy old man forever "

Even though my back was facing him, I could see the evident pout on his lips. What a childish old man. I smiled to myself.

" Kids these days are such a menace " he murmurs, voice fading in and out of my range as he was also looking for the small screw.

I've been going out more often for the past few months. Sui sometimes accompanies me, but lately, I wanted to be by myself, exploring the nooks and crannies of Tokyo. I was never the adventurous type, so maybe this curiosity—hunger for knowledge of the world had made me this way. There's a lot of things I've yet to see, being confined in the penthouse for almost 5 years made me miss a lot of things. I thought that I'd be stuck there forever.

It scared me.

Shinichiro-san is an interesting guy, albeit weird and sometimes lame. His black hair is always tousled messily, how did he manage to look good without even trying? He probably doesn't even comb his hair.

He'd always talk about how proud he is of his siblings. His black eyes that were void of any light, would have a hint of sparkle in them whenever he talks about them, proudly.